Meet the ‘Real’ Mortimer the Terrier

The idea for Mortimer the Terrier’s Second Chance came about a l-o-o-o-ong time ago, after my sister, Kaitlin, adopted a spunky, 14-ish pound pup named Yogi*.

He had one floppy ear, a prominent underbite, and a snaggletooth — so you’d be excused if you found him kinda funny looking. With his salt-and-pepper fur and slim stature, Yogi would make for a perfect Toto in a community theatre staging of The Wizard of Oz (if he ever took direction—which he never did) .

This is Yogi, the inspiration for Morty.

Above all, though, Yogi was a character. Whether it was dressing up as Obi-Wan Kenobi for Halloween, or posing next to our childhood Barbie Ferrari with a stylish scarf billowing behind him, or jumping out of the car for a sprinting tour of Arlington, Va., during the morning rush hour (yep, that really happened) — Yogi always found an adventure.

When our family got together, we’d spin up fantastical stories starring Yogi that’d have us laughing for hours. Eventually, we concluded, he needed his own book.

Yogi was always down for a staged photo shoot.

Unfortunately, it took me a good while to get Yogi’s story down on paper, and he passed away before he could see himself in print. But I’m pretty sure that, somewhere over the rainbow bridge, Yogi’s chuffed to know the story of his “second chance” will live on through Morty.

*You may be wondering, why is this book about “Morty” and not “Yogi”? Two reasons: First, this is only based on a true story; creative liberties have been taken. And second, I don’t have enough money to fight Warner Brothers of the copyright to this guy.

To learn more about Morty and how you’ll be able to buy the book this fall, visit his page on this website and sign up for the Morty Memo newsletter at the bottom!